The present invention generally relates to automated devices and methods for the preparation of food items and, more specifically, to devices and methods for the automated preparation of layered stacks of one or more food items (hereinafter "set-ups") such as sandwich meats, hors d'oeuvre servings and the like. The invention provides a method and apparatus for the large-scale preparation of set-ups made with one or more food products. Each set-up is made of layered sliced stacks of food products. The method and apparatus of the invention can make the individual layers of the set-up with more than one type of sliced food item and with the slices arranged in a preferred pattern within a single horizontal plane. Set-ups made by the invention are automatically wrapped in paper and stacked with like set-ups for subsequent packaging and shipment. The invention is particularly useful in the commercial manufacture of sandwich set-ups made with one or more sliced meats or cheeses such as those used in making so-called "sub" sandwiches, for example.
The fast food industry has generally enjoyed continued growth in recent years and has seen a sustained demand by consumers for quick and efficient service and good product quality. Improvements in products and services as well as the introduction of new products has been necessary to capture market share and attain a comfortable profit margin in an increasingly competitive industry. Controlling costs, while providing a quality product and service, is a continuing concern within the industry. Food service providers have worked to control costs by controlling the size of the food portions in meal items served to customers. Carefully controlling the amount of meat and other materials used in sandwich set ups, for example, helps to control the overall cost in making and serving various sandwiches. While optimum control over portion sizes would best be achieved using automated machinery with readily reproducible equipment settings, the art has failed to provide such machinery for the manufacture of set-ups to duplicate the arrangement and selection of food items found in hand-made or manually assembled set-ups.
In controlling costs, industry generally strives to utilize its work force as efficiently as possible. In the food services industry, the preparation of set-ups has required a rather inefficient use of labor since the manual production of set-ups has typically been labor intensive, often requiring the dedicated attention and efforts of one or more individuals. Automation of a large scale set-up preparation process would allow the food service retailer to obtain premade set-ups, allowing for a more efficient use of labor by freeing individuals from time-intensive manual set-up preparation. In this manner workers would be able to dedicate more time to other important duties such as customer service, for example.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the art by providing a mechanized system and method for the automated assembly of set-ups for distribution to individual vendors. The system is an automated assembly-line including a plurality of slicers for slicing meat, cheese and like products and depositing those sliced products onto a conveyor line. Timing mechanisms are provided so that the food items from successive slicers are deposited on the conveyor in close proximity to the slice or slices from preceding food slicers to form a plurality of premade sandwich set-ups, each set-up being composed of a pattern of layered horizontally spaced food slices. The set-ups are stacked and then packaged for shipment to food service retailers for making sandwiches such as "submarine" type sandwiches, hors d'oeuvre servings and the like.
The system includes at least one paper roll supply and paper feed system from which a continuous sheet or web of paper is carried down a conveyor line through a plurality of slicer stations. Each slicer station deposits slices of one or more food items onto a conveyed web to thereby form a single layer of horizontally spaced food slices. These slices are then conveyed to the next slicer station where another layer of food slices is deposited on top of the previous layer. As each set-up is conveyed down the conveyer line, each subsequent slicer station adds an additional layer of food to the set-up. The completed set-up is conveyed to a cutting station where the continuous web of paper is automatically cut with a portion of the paper used to cover and protect the set-up. The covered set-up is conveyed to a stacking station and the stacked set-ups are then conveyed to a packaging station where they are packaged for commercial shipment.
In an alternate embodiment, at least one additional paper feed assembly is positioned between a pair of slicer stations to provide an additional continuous web of paper separating two layers of sliced food within a set-up. Such an arrangement is preferred in the preparation of set-ups including certain food items such as Roast Beef, for example, which may have a tendency to exchange colors or flavors with other food items within layers in the set-ups. The additional web of paper separates such components from the adjoining layers of the set-up to preserve the original colors and flavors of the food and thereby maintain the integrity of the completed set-up.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for the automated manufacture of premade food set-ups.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for the assembly of premade food set-ups wherein the apparatus includes a plurality of slicers which are arranged and timed to deposit sliced food product onto a conveyor at predetermined intervals to thereby assemble predetermined arrangements of food product to form a finished set-up.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide means for automatically stacking and packaging the premade set-ups once they have been assembled.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the remainder of the disclosure including the drawings, the detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the claims.